Conclusions and Implications
Conclusions
Comprehension does not always result from fluent reading. Although fluency permits the mind to focus on comprehension, explicit muticomponential strategy instruction, coupled with a robust vocabulary to augment background knowledge, is essential to establish mature reading skills. This study employed the multicomponential strategy instruction of Questioning the Author (QtA) (Beck & McKeown, 2006) and developed the participants’ background, vocabulary, and text coherence through the use of a logical sequence of teacher directed-questions. These questions gave the participants the organizational framework to question the fallibility of the author and the coherence of the text as well as develop a deeper, more meaningful understanding of what they had read.
Questioning the Author (QtA) proved to be the ideal choice, as the goal of building understanding in this strategy is supported through the use of teacher-posed queries and student discussion which take place during the reading, with both teacher and students actively participating. With emphasis placed on articulating a clear understanding of each portion or segment of the text before moving on to the next, the purpose of a QtA discussion is not to determine which answer is “right,” rather the interactions experienced during QtA assist in fostering comprehension and critical thinking, resulting in a deeper understanding of the text.
Although formal testing did not indicate a significant change in all students, documentation throughout the study indicated that at the instructional level, many of the students became more insightful as their responses reflected an inferential rather than literal level of understanding. Observations at the culmination of the study also indicated an increased discourse and use of the strategies at an independent level, even when queries were not directly posed by the teacher.
Freire (2005) quite aptly summarizes the discourse that must occur in order to promote a deeper understanding of the text when he states:
True dialogue cannot exist unless the dialoguers engage in critical thinking…which perceives reality as a process, as transformation, rather than a static entity – thinking which does not separate itself from action, but immerses itself in temporality without fear of the risks involved (p. 92).
Implementing the strategies of QtA certainly promoted this risk-free, thought-provoking discourse, affording the participants a more critical stance, and developing a deeper more meaningful understanding of the text.
Daily teacher reflections were a fundamental component of this study. At the culmination of each session, the audio tape was reviewed to provide an accurate and comprehensive recap of the lesson, and reflections were made regarding the success or failure of the queries and discussion moves that were implemented. Once initial and follow-up queries were evaluated for effectiveness and student responses were examined for quality and overall understanding of the material, the segmentations, queries, and discussion moves were developed to address the next day’s text. This daily reflective process was crucial in that it enabled the researcher to evaluate her presentation of the strategy as well as develop a lesson that addressed the specific needs of the group in terms of their background knowledge and participation.
In reflecting upon the overall effect of this study, it by far exceeded the expectations of developing and enhancing participant comprehension skills, but it was the carry over to classroom discussions that proved to be the most satisfying result. Toward the end of the study and after its culmination, the students who participated began to occasionally question the author independently during class discussions of text in the core reading program as well as in the content areas of science and social studies. It was interesting to note, that at times, they would offer a supporting detail by saying, “the author says on page 20 that…,” and other times that they were critical of the author's style, presentation of material, or message. They had internalized the strategy in that they had begun create and answer their own queries as they critically examined text.
The strategy of QtA is an invaluable tool which can be used in both a small- and large-group format, offering explicit instruction through the use of queries and discussion moves, and, at the same time, developing robust independent critical thinking skills. Used strategically, on a daily basis, the teacher can model how to choose the most relevant pieces of information to attend to and then carry over in memory to the next sentence to be read. Consequently, as students become accustomed to making connections between text segments and thinking about those connections as they read, the result is a deeper more meaningful understanding of the text.
Recommendations and Implications for Future Research
This researcher would like to use the strategies learned in QtA to compare two texts on the same topic with conflicting points of view. This researcher is interested to determine how students will react to the different perspectives, and how they will support their views on the topic. Will they be able to observe the purpose and fallibility in the perspectives of both authors and come up with their own point of view? Also, as mentioned in the limitations, this study could have been more effective, and students might have made more significant progress if it had been implemented longer than 8 weeeks.
